Various circumstances may require a person to utilize a rope for climbing, such as ascending a tree to cut a branch. Generally, ascending a rope can be very difficult without the assistance of a locking device to temporarily support the person at various climbing points on the rope, particularly when the ascension is to great heights or requires the person to be suspended for an extended period of time. Existing ascender devices used for such purposes, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,459,411 to Maurice et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes, while somewhat effective also tend to cause excessive rope wear and a single device cannot be used on both left and right feet of the operator. Further, existing ascender devices commonly utilize a rope feed path that is not aligned with the anchoring reaction forces generated by the strapping configuration, such that when utilized during a climb, the device becomes racked at an angle, thus limiting the ability of the rope to feed properly therethrough and creating notable discomfort to the climber.